Kosciusko, Mount

Highest mountain in Australia (2,228 m/7,310 ft), in the Snowy Mountains of the Australian Alps in southeast New South Wales, close to the border with Victoria and 390 km/240 mi to the southwest of Sydney.

The mountain was named by the Polish-born mineralogist and explorer Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki (1797-1873), who climbed it in 1840. He thought one of the summit tops resembled the grave of the Polish revolutionary hero Tadeusz Kościuszko 1746-1817). The area surrounding the peak is the Kosciusko National Park (area, 6,500 sq km/2,510 sq mi), which includes most of the Snowy Mountains Region, whose melting snows, steep slopes, and fast-flowing waters are the basis of the major Snowy Mountains Hydoelectric Project. This region is also increasingly celebrated for its winter sports which attract many tourists.

The mountain's name is spelt Kosciusko, without the ‘z’ of the Polish form Kościuszko, but The Geographical Names Board is lobbying to have the spelling altered.